Posts from ‘August, 2006’

Keith Olbermann set a benchmark for TV news commentary Wednesday with his response to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s straw-man exposition of the previous day.

Olbermann’s writing was excellent, his delivery superb. But what made his commentary one against which others should be measured was his exemplary clarity of thought grounded in genuine understanding of, and respect for, our democratic system.

He spoke for millions. He spoke for us. . . .

Quote: “There’s a civics lesson here from the drug companies. They write checks to protect their GOP friends, and then they write the laws to benefit themselves, all the while doctors are writing prescriptions middle-class Americans can’t afford.”

Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld generated some buzz Tuesday by talking about the rise of a new fascism, raising the specter of mindless, 1930s-type appeasement.

“Speaking to several thousand veterans at the American Legion’s national convention, Rumsfeld said that as fascism and Nazism took hold in Europe, those who warned of a coming crisis were ridiculed or ignored.

. . . ‘Can we truly afford to believe that somehow, some way, vicious extremists can be appeased?’ he asked.”

There are many good reasons for joining the military. They include the desire to become a fit, trained adult who’s independent of family, a desire to serve in an admired military organization and an interest in defending the country.

Young men also join for bad reasons. These include avoiding jail, getting over a failed romance or because they’ve got a wife, kids and are desperate for a steady job and paycheck.

Too many Iraqi soldiers seem to have joined only because they need a paycheck. It’s part of the reason things like this keep cropping up . . .

While we’re on the subject of how President Bush’s blunder war in Iraq is just not working out, we should note in passing an incident from last week, one with an auld lang syne quality.

From an Aug. 26 news item: “AMARAH, Iraq — Some of the men were armed; others had their faces covered. They ransacked Camp Abu Naji in southern Iraq, even making off with stuff that was nailed down. . . “

Quote: “Questions of fact that are threatening to wealth and power become questions of power. And so the scientific evidence on global warming — an inconvenient truth for the largest polluters — becomes a question of power . . .”

Count on corporate America to get a big case of the vapors and Wall Street to go into minor convulsions if Democrats regain control of Congress in the November elections.

Both are traditional responses from these quarters to Democratic takeovers, albeit irrational ones. You’d think attitude would be different after the Clinton administration, which was great for business, but no.

Remember, we said “irrational.”

Exploits in stupidity are depressingly common these days, but a 21-year-old student en route this morning from Argentina to Newark was clearly out to set a new benchmark for being stupid — and he succeeded big time.

There’s no other explanation for bringing dynamite onto a jetliner anytime, much less in the current paranoid atmosphere.

Science has come up with a way of doing embryonic stem cell research that doesn’t require destroying embryos. That’s welcome news for millions the world over who are afflicted with serious problems this research might yield breakthrough treatments and cures for.
It should also be extremely welcome news to those who’ve opposed embryonic stem cell [...]

A former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, is said to be making arrangements to come to Washington, D.C., to take part in a conference next month.

. . . We hope the Bush administration will approve Khatami’s visa application. We also would like to see the president or secretary of state invite Khatami to the White House or State Department for informal discussions.